Pros
This provides practice in learning how to run a therapeutic group effectively while learning how to handle disruptions from the clients. You will also learn how to engage with different client different behaviors or needs. if you do not have thick skin, this job forces you to have thick skin. you may learn how to use certain programs on the computer, and you're typing skills may improve with how much paperwork you have to do. you have training refreshers every 3 months on how to keep yourself safe and how to keep the kids safe. you have weekly team meetings to talk about the kids behaviors.
Cons
You may face sexism and emotional immaturity and poor emotional intelligence from your coworkers. When you try to express the passive aggressiveness that is being played out by your coworkers they will not take accountability and will turn it around on you. They do not take accountability for the things that they're responsible for and instead try to put the blame on you. You will also be considered a poison to your team when you express how you feel about a client/staff, and you will be threatened that you will get moved to another unit for sharing how you feel about a client/staff. Workers that actually work hard will get written up while the ones who slack off and have poor work ethic will slide under the radar because they are considered more valuable. Male staff think that they shouldn't have to write paperwork because they deal with behavior. However, that's not always the case because it seems like the females end up doing more work than the males do while the makes sit down yelling from the couch most of the time. Male staff will question why the children don't act up when the male coworkers are around versus why they act up when it's just female co-workers on the unit, and they will question what they females are doing. if a staff has a problem with something that you've done they will call you out right in front of the clients. staff will even talk poorly about you in front of the clients which ends up spreading around and the clients will use what they hear against you when they're upset. they'll also use what they've heard from the staff as manipulation technique. You will have to deal with getting punched in the face, getting spit on, getting bitten or getting thrown feces at you. You also have to deal with verbal abuse from the clients and staff does nothing about it except for give them a consequence and let the kids go about their day. There is a huge inconsistency in who is giving consequences and who isn't. there's also a huge inconsistency in weather you will have supervision.